Key Historical Figures and Events of the 20th Century
A
A. Philip Randolph
President and founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
Adolph Hitler
Fascist leader of Germany
Affirmative Action
Required employers and educational institutions to give special consideration to women, African Americans, and other minority groups, even though these people were not necessarily better qualified.
Alliance for Progress
Offered economic and technical assistance to Latin American countries
American Indian Movement
Often militant Native American rights organization
Appeasement
Giving up principles to pacify an aggressor
Atlantic Charter
Joint declaration of war aims between the U.S.A. and Britain
Axis Powers
Alliance comprised of Germany, Italy, and Japan
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini
Muslim religious leader who led the rebels in overthrowing the shah and establishing a religious state based on strict obedience to the Qur’an.
B
Baby Boom
Unprecedented population explosion
Battle of Midway
Turning point in the Pacific War
Battle of the Atlantic
The German attack on U.S. supply convoys headed to Britain
Battle of the Bulge
Desperate last-ditch offensive by the Germans
Beat Movement
Expressed the social and literary nonconformity of artists, poets, and writers.
Benito Mussolini
Established a totalitarian regime in Italy
Berlin Wall
Concrete wall topped with barbed wire that severed the city in two
Bill Gates
The decade’s most celebrated entrepreneur.
Blitzkrieg
“Lightning war”
Brinkmanship
Willingness of the USA to go to all-out war
C
Camp David Accords
12 days of intense negotiation between the Israeli and Egyptian presidents
Charles de Gaulle
French general
CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)
Intelligence agency that uses spies in secret operations
Conglomerate
Major corporation that includes several smaller companies in unrelated industries
Containment
Taking measures to prevent any extension of communist rule to other countries
Contract with America
Ten items Republicans promised to enact if they won control of Congress
Counterculture
Movement made up mostly of white, middle-class college youths who had grown disillusioned with the Vietnam War and other injustices
Cuban Missile Crisis
Moment of tension where Cuba had nuclear missiles stationed and ready to fire on the U.S. The U.S. made it clear that if launched, it would have retaliated, and this would have caused WW3.
D
D-Day
Invasion of France, June 6th, 1944
Dotcom
A nickname derived from business identities, or addresses, on the World Wide Web, which often ended in “.com.”
Douglas MacArthur
General in command of the United States troops in the Philippines
Downsize
Trim payrolls to streamline operations and increase profits
Dwight D. Eisenhower
American general
E
Entitlement Program
Programs that provide guaranteed benefits to particular groups.
Equal Rights Amendment
Gave both men and women the same rights.
F
Fair Deal
Extension of Roosevelt’s “New Deal”
Fascism
Stressed nationalism and placed the interests of the state above those of individuals
Feminism
The belief that women should have economic, political, and social equality with men
G
G.I. Bill of Rights
Education and training for veterans
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
This new treaty lowered trade barriers, such as tariffs, and established the World Trade Organization (WTO) to resolve trade disputes
Gentrification
People purchased and rehabilitated deteriorating urban property, oftentimes displacing lower-income people.
George Patton
General of the 3rd Army
Geraldine Ferraro
First woman on a major party’s presidential ticket
H
Harry S. Truman
U.S.A’s 33rd president, took over for the late Franklin D. Roosevelt
Hideki Tojo
Chief of Staff of Japan’s Kwantung army
Hillary Rodham Clinton
First Lady of the U.S. who was appointed by Bill Clinton to head the health care reform that never passed.
Hippy Movement
Movement formed by members of the counterculture who felt that American society had grown hollow and hoped to create a community of peace, love, and harmony.
Human Rights
Freedoms and liberties listed in the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights
I
Immigration Act of 1965
Opened the door for many non-European immigrants to settle in the United States by ending quotas based on nationality
Information Superhighway
A network of communication devices linking people and institutions across the nation and the world
Internment
Confinement
J
John F. Kennedy
The 35th president of the United States
John Foster Dulles
U.S. Secretary of State
Joseph Stalin
Communist dictator of the Soviet Union
K
Kamikaze
Suicide plane
Korean War
Conflict between North and South Korea
L
La Raza Unida (The People United)
Organization for Latino rights
Lend-Lease Act
Plan to lend/lease arms to “any country whose defense is vital to the United States of America”
Lyndon Baines Johnson
President of the United States
M
Manhattan Project
Code name for research work that extended across the country
Mao Zedong
Communist leader of China
Mass Media
Means of communication that reach large audiences
McCarthyism
Attacks on suspected communists
Mikhail Gorbachev
Became the general secretary of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union.
N
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)
Legislation that brought Mexico into the free-trade zone that the United States and Canada had already formed.
NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System)
A technology-dominated stock index on Wall Street
Nationalism
Belief that involves an individual identifying with, or becoming attached to, one’s nation
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
Western Europe and American defensive military alliance
Nazism
German brand of fascism, stressed extreme nationalism
Neutrality Acts
Acts that were determined to keep the U.S. out of the war
Neville Chamberlain
British Prime Minister before Churchill, supported the nonaggression pact
Newt Gingrich
Republican congressman who began to turn voters’ dissatisfaction with Clinton into support for Republicans
Nikita Khrushchev
Leader of the Soviet Union
Nonaggression Pact
Pact committed not to attack
O
Omar Bradley
General who attacked St. Lo
OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
Middle-East based petroleum organization
Operation Desert Storm
Operation launched by President Bush to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi control
P
Peace Corps
A program of volunteer assistance to the developing nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America
R
Realpolitik
According to this philosophy, foreign policy should be based solely on consideration of power, not ideals or moral principles.
Reapportionment
Or the way in which states redraw election districts based on the changing number of people in them
S
Stagflation
High inflation and high unemployment
Supply-Side Economics
This theory held that if people paid fewer taxes, they would save more money.
T
Telecommunications Act of 1996
Removed barriers that had previously prevented one type of communications company from starting up or buying another related one.
U
U-2 Incident
Opened tension with the two superpowers
United Nations
Organization formed by the United States and its allies in 1945 to protect international peace
Urban Flight
The process in which Americans left the cities and moved to the suburbs.
V
V-E Day
Victory in Europe Day
W
WAAC (Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps)
Women volunteers in noncombat positions
Warren Commission
Investigation that concluded that Oswald had shot JFK while acting on his own
Warren Court
Banned prayer in public schools and declared state-required loyalty oaths unconstitutional
William “Bill” Jefferson Clinton
First member of the baby-boom generation to win the presidency and lead the Democrats in a more moderate direction
Winston Churchill
Chamberlain’s political rival, eventually became Prime Minister of England
WTO (World Trade Organization)
Established to resolve trade disputes
Y
Yalta Conference
Conference between the leaders of the U.S.A (Roosevelt), Britain (Churchill), and USSR (Stalin) that discussed the end of the war and how to divide Germany.